Mounting for power plants



Feb. 16, 1932. c. J. BOCK MOUNTING FOR POWER PLANTS Filed Aug. 15, 1930T 35% T E E CARL J. BOOK, OF roNTIAC, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOE TO YELLOW TRUCK& COACH MANUFACTURING COMPANY, or PONTIAC, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION orMAINE MOUNTING FOB POWER PLANTS Application filed August 13, 1930.Serial No. 475,072.

This invention relates to motor vehicles and the like and moreparticularly to an improvement in power plant mountings.

.i To provide a satisfactory mounting and 'one which is especiallyeffective in reduclng the imposition of strains on the power plant,incident to the twisting and weaving of the chassis frame members due tounevenness of l the road bed and similar causes, it has been thecustomary practice, in motor car design, to support the power plant,which usually consists of an engine, a clutch and a change speedmechanism all connected and assembled ,together as a unitary structure,at three points on the chassis frame, the major portion of the loadbeing carried at the sides intermediate the Over-all length of the powerplant and adjacent the flywheel housing at the rear of the engine withthe third support 13' at the front of the engine and centrally thereof.With this construction it has been found that the occurrence of frameweaving does not materially affect the position of the i power plant norcause damage thereto, and the three point support has come into wide andgenerally accepted usage.

While this conventional practice, as a general rule, meets therequirements in a majority of cases, it cannot safely be followed by allmanufacturers and particularly those who have to deal with massive andheavy units as, for example, a transmission unit that involves five ormore speed changes. At-

- tempts have been made in the past to mount the bulky transmissionhousing independently of the engine but this takes up too much space anddoes not satisfactorily meet the situation as regards proper alinementand various other factors that must be taken into consideration. It isproposed, according to this invention, which has been especiallydesigned for and will find particular utility in connection with largetrucks, busses, tractors and other conveyances wherein the individualunits of the power plant are quite large, to overcome the objections tothe expedients heretofore followed and go a step further in theelimination of any bad effects on the power plant from the twisting anddistortion of frame members, and to this end there is contemplated,among other things, the provision of a flexible joint connection betweencertain units of the power plant to allow relative movement therebetweenand also the use of additional points of support all co-operativelyarranged and constructed to afford the desired flexibility to theassembly as a whole.

The invention will be better understood upon reference to theaccompanying drawings illustrating a preferred, but notnecessarily theonly embodiment of the invention, and wherein Figure l is a top planView of the front portion of a chassis frame with a power plant mountedtherein.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the joint construction betweenthe units of the power plant assembly and is taken on line 22 of Figure1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of the rear mounting for thetransmission housing, looking in the direction of the arrows on line 3-3of Figure 1.

Figures 4: and 5 are detailed sectional views taken on lines i4 and 55,respectively, of Figure 3. I

Referring to the drawings, the reference numerals 1-1 indicate a pair oflongitudinally extending channeled shaped members of the chassis framewhich is to receivethe power plant. In the present case the power plantincludes an engine 2 which may he of the multiple cylinder internalcombustion type having at its rear end suitable clutch mechanismenclosed within a bell housing 3, and change speed mechanism at the rearof the clutch enclosed within the housing a. The engine uniu is shown asbeing mounted at three points, its rear end being mounted at either sideon the chassis frame members 1-1 and its front end being supported at acentral point upon the front transverse frame member 5. It will beunderstood, however,

that the particular type'of mounting for the engine may be variously.modified. The weight of the transmission houslng un1t f is carriedpartly on the frame member 6 and partly On the engine unit, the twounits being connected together by a flexible joint to permit both arelative angular movement and a 211;;

relative longitudinal sliding movement. This joint may be made byproviding a cylindrical extension or projection 9 at the rear end of thebell housing 3 and a similar extension or projection 10 telescopicallyreceiving the projection 9 and being either an integral part of thehousing 4 or a separate part bolted thereto. A bearing ring 1.1 may beinterposed between the extensions and provided, as shown in thedrawings, with an interior cylindrical surface for sliding engage.- mentwith the peripheral surface of the cylindrical extension 9 and with theball or parti-spherical peripheral surface received in a correspondingparti-spherical surface on the interior of the extension 10, and acorresponding surface on a retainer ring or collar 12 which may besecured to the extension 10 as by means of a series of fastening studsor bolts 13, each extending through an ear in the ring 12 into threadedengagement with an ear on the extension 10, with a-helical coil spring14 interposed between the head of the stud and the ring to maintain atight fit and automatically take up wear between the partisphericalsurfaces. It will be seen, therefore, that the corresponding cylindricalsurfaces permit a relative longitudinal sliding move ment between theparts while the ball or parti-spherical surfaces accommodate relativeangular movements.

The rear end of the transmission housing 4 is connected to the channeledsection frame member 6 as by means of a pair of suspen sion bolts 16 and17 which pass through a rearwardly extending ear or rib 18 which may beformed as an integral part of the housing. In the connection at 16,which is shown in detail in Figure 4, the suspension bolt extendsthrough an elongated slot 20 in the ear l8 and upwardly through theflanges of the bar 6 carrying a spacer sleeve 21 between the flanges andis secured in place by the nut 22. The pin and slot connection thusafforded will permit a limited to and fro movement between the housingand frame member 6, such as may be necessary to accommodate any relativemovement between the engine unit 2 and transmission unit 4. The othersuspension bolt 17, which passes upwardly through the flange 18, thespacer sleeve 25 and frame member 6, carrying the attachment nut 26 onits upper end, is intended to afford a fixed pivotal axis about whichthe housing may turn and serves to definitely locate the housing in theframe. As shown in Figure 5, the bolt is preferably surroundedby abushing 27 which extends into alined depressions or openings in thespacer sleeve 25 and flange 18 for the purpose of taking horizontalthrusts. In line with the loose connection at the front of the housing 4the transmission shafting is provided with a universal joint 30, of anyconventional design, connecting the clutch shaft 31 and transmissionshaft 32 to each other and having a sliding splined connection with atleast one of said shafts, whereby the transmission of power from oneshaft to the other will not be affected by the rela tive movement of thepower plant units.

To facilitate assembly of the parts, a pair of supporting brackets 35are riveted or otherwise secured to the frame members 11 and providedwith horizontal shelf portions 36 on which the opposite ends of theframe member 6 may be supported. Each bracket also has a vertical ear3'? by means of which the bracket and frame member may be bolted orotherwise secured together. Preferaly, the shelf is of a width somewhatgreater than that of the frame member so that upon assembly, after theengine 2 is first mounted on the frame, the housing 4 with the member 6secured thereto may be dropped downwardly into position until the endsof the member 6 rest upon the shelves 36. The width of ,the shelfprovides ample support and permits the bar to be shifted about while thejoint parts are being brought together in proper relation for attachmentwith each other. In the event it becomes necessary to disassemble theparts after the vehicle has been in service, the transmission housingmay be easily removed from underneath the vehicle without necessitatingremoval of the cab or body on the chassis frame which would bepositioned directly above the transmission.

From the above description it will be seen that there is thus providedwhat is in effect a five point support for the power plant with theengine mounted at three points and the transmission .unit also mountedat three points, two of the latter points of support being on thechassis frame and the third being a flexible joint between adjacent endsof the transmission and engine. This arrange ment occupies a minimum ofspace and provides an efficient mounting for the units with sufficientflexibility to accommodate frame weaving without throwing strains intothe power plant or affecting the transmission of power from one shaft tothe other.

I claim:

1. A motor vehicle having aframe, an engine mounted in the frame, ahousing for power transmission mechanism also mounted in the frame, anda coupling between the en inc and housing accommodating both slicing andangular movements therebetween, drive shafts associated with the engineand housing respectively, and a loose connection between said shafts atthe joint between the engine and housing.

2. A motor vehicle having a. frame, an engine mounted in the frame, atransmission housing, a supporting connection between the housing andframe, a universaland sliding supporting connection between the housingand engine, power transmission elements associated with the housing andengine and a universal and sliding connection between sald elementsadjacent sald connectlon between the housing and engine.

3. A motor vehicle having an engine unit 7 and a transmission housingunit, a loose coupling between said units including an extension on oneof the units, a bearing element slidable on said extension and providedwith a parti-spherical surface, an extension on the other unit having aparti-spherical surface slidable on the corresponding surface of thebearing element, power transmission elements associated with therespective units and a universal and sliding connection between saidpower transmission elements adjacent said coupling.

4. A motor vehicle having an engine and a transmission housing, a loosecoupling therebetween including projections on the engine and housingrespectively, telescoped one on the other, one of said projectionshaving a cylindrical surface and the other having a parti-sphericalsurface, and a bearing element interposed between said projections andprovided with cylindrical and partispherical surfaces corresponding toand slidably fitting the surfaces of said projections.

5. A motor vehicle having a frame, an engine mounted in the frame, atransmission housing, and a three point support for said housingincluding a locating pivotal connection between the housing and frame, apin and slot connection between the housing and frame, and a universaland sliding connec tion between the housing and engine.

6. A motor vehicle having a frame, an engine mounted in the frame, atransmission housing, means for mounting said housing partly on theframe and partly on the ens gine, including extensions on the housingand engine respectively, telescoped on one another, a bearing ringtherebetween having a cylindrical surface and a parti-spherical surfaceslidable respectively on corresponding surfaces of said extensions, afixed pivotal connection between the housing and frame, and a looseconnection between the housing and frame.

7. In a motor vehicle, a frame, an engine supported in the frame, atransmission housing, a connection for supporting one end of the housingon the engine, a transverse member for supporting the opposite end ofsaid housing, and a pair of brackets on the frame having horizontalsupporting shelves of a width greater than said transverse member and onwhich the transverse member is slid ably supported to facilitate theassembly of said connection.

In testimony whereof I afiix my si ature.

C. J. B CK.

